This personal story was originally posted to the Quinolone Adverse Reaction Forum. If you are a victim of a quinolone antibiotic and need support or advice then please visit the Quinolone Adverse Reaction Forum (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/).
 

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This personal story was originally posted to the Quinolone Adverse Reaction Forum. If you are a victim of a quinolone antibiotic and need support or advice then please visit the Quinolone Adverse Reaction Forum (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/).

Cipro
Posted on 19 July 2002
Our 38 year old daughter had a history of kidney and liver damage -- due to radiation for Cancer (neuroblastoma) when she was a babby. The cancer was cured, but the kidney and liver problems have worsened as time goes by. She was under the care of Kidney Specialist and a Liver Specialist -- and was considered stable. On May 19th she became quite nauseated and by the next day I felt she was becoming dehydrated. Her Primary Care Physician could not see her that day, and advised me to take her to the Emergency Room. They treated her for mild dehydration, gave her IV fluids, and then sent her home. On Wednesday, May 22nd, she developed a cough, but no fever, and appeared to have an upper respiratory problem. I made an appointment with her Primary Care Dr. for the next day. When I took her in for the appointment the Dr. said she possibly had bronchitis or pneumonia -- and ordered a chest x-ray to be made the next day. Friday night she was coughing quite frequently and did not sleep well. Saturday morning called her Dr. again -- and he said he would send her Medroldospac to take along with the CIPRO, and in his words, "she should be much better by Monday." She had taken CIPRO Thursday, Friday, and again on Saturday. She also took two doses of the Medroldospac (Prednizone) on Saturday. About 2:30 PM on Saturday she was sitting up watching TV and suddenly she became quite pale. I asked if she felt bad, nauseated, or hurt anywhere and she said no. She said she was very tired -- and wanted to lie down and take a nap. I walked her into the bedroom and she lay down on her stomach -- for some reason I felt of her back, as I couldn't be sure she was breathing. She WAS -- I walked into the other room to get the phone to call my husband (he was two doors up) to come home - as I was quite concerned about her -- and wanted to take her to the Emergency Room. I walked back into the bedroom -- placed my hand on her back -- and she was NOT breathing. I called 911 and they instructed us (a friend of my daughters was here) how to do mouth-to-mouth resusitation and CPR which we proceeded to do. The Paramedics were here in less than 5 minutes. They worked on her for 45 minutes -- did not revive her. They transported her to the Hospital where she was pronounced dead from Cardiac Arrest.

On Monday morning her Primary Care Physician called and said to me: "I have your daughter's death certificate in front of me, and her chart and frankly, I do not know what to put as the cause of death!" I was so upset -- he went on to say he would just put that she had a Massive Heart Attack! I do NOT believe that was the cause of death -- she had no pain, nor any symptoms which would indicate a heart attack. Unfortunately, my husband did not want an autopsy done -- as he said he couldn't bear the thoughts of them cutting on her. Since that time I have research both CIPRO and PREDNISONE and it does appear, from what I have learned, that CIPRO should NOT be given to an individual with either kidney or liver problems -- as there is a very real risk involved. The same is true with the PREDNISONE -- it should not be given to individuals with liver problems. There is no way we can actually prove the CIPRO and PREDNISONE contributed to her death -- but the Hospital Report also listed Renal Failure -- which leads me to believe her kidneys shut down -- and I believe the CIPRO contributed to that. So, should any one have kidney or liver problems, please discuss with your Physician BEFORE taking either CIPRO and/or PREDNISONE. My daughter's doctor said the medication WAS safe -- but I firmly believe he FAILED to look at her Chart before prescribing it -- or he would have recalled she did indeed have both kidney and liver problems. She was so young -- and now she is gone, and we will never really have closure -- we do not know what actually caused her death, but we firmly believe she did NOT have a Masssive Heart Attack -- and we have found from reearch that CIPRO can cause fatal reactions in some instances. So, please be very careful before taking this medication.

Originally posted on the Quinolone Adverse Reaction Forum at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/8731